The silver band, stained with blood, had slipped off my bony finger.
It rolled across the floor with a series of clinks before finally stopping at Dominic’s feet.
As if by some twist of fate.
He clutched the ring, staring at it for a long time.
After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke in a dreamlike voice: “How… is this possible?”
Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Vivian reached out to hold his arm, but he shoved her away.
Then, as if finally accepting the truth, he stumbled to my side.
“Aria, honey, it really is you?”
“How could this be? There were so many chances earlier, why didn’t you say anything?”
Dominic was so remorseful his eyes were nearly bleeding, but I just wanted to laugh coldly.
Didn’t say anything?
What about the hand signal I made? What about all the times I tried to grab his hand?
Jused every ounce of strength to tell him I was Aria, but what did I get?
Threats and slaps that knocked out my teeth.
And…
Dominic clearly thought of the smothered infant too. He suddenly froze, his face whiter than a corpse’s.
His teeth chattered as he asked, “Then my… child…”
The young nurse, who had been coldly observing, spat out furiously:
“With a father like you, this child was truly cursed! Better to be reborn!”
Then she looked pitifully at the baby wrapped in the white cloth.
Dominic snatched the baby into his arms, his hands shaking as he unwrapped it.
One look was all it took. He let out an anguished howl, tears streaming down his face.
He pulled out the new prayer beads the assistant had gotten and stuffed them into the white cloth.
“Don’t leave Daddy. Daddy got you blessed beads. The Buddha promised to keep you safe!”
“I’m begging you, please wake up!”
His desperate cries filled the operating room.
I stood right beside him, watching this scene with indescribable feelings.
W
I should have felt the satisfaction of revenge, but I only felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
I saw his regret, his anguish, his chest–beating and foot–stamping remorse, but what good did that do?
My child was gone, never to return.
Vivian’s eyes were full of jealousy. She stepped forward and grabbed Dominic’s hand:
“Dominic, it’s just a child. I can give you more. Don’t be sad.”
P
The man who used to dote on her like a precious treasure now slapped her into the wall with one blow.
The redness hadn’t faded from Dominic’s eyes, but his expression suddenly turned sinister.
He gripped Vivian’s chin, his voice terrifyingly cold:
“You think you’re worthy?”
“After a few years in my bed, you really thought you could compare to Aria? Aria is my one and only wife in this life. My children can only come from her womb!”
Vivian’s eyes instantly welled with tears. She cried out desperately:
“But she’s dead! Aria and the baby are both dead! Are you going to live as a widower for the rest of your life, holding onto a corpse?”
“I can be your unnamed wife, bear your children. Please, let me stay by your side…”
After this outpouring of true feelings, Dominic’s face remained expressionless.
Before he could order his bodyguards to take Vivian away, the young nurse suddenly spoke up.
“Who said she’s dead?”
That one sentence not only made Dominic’s eyes shine brightly.
It also left me stunned.
